6 Tips you need to engage with interactivities

Build your legacy value. I’m driven by legacy. Gary Vee image-garyvee.com

Continuing with engage with interactivities is your 9th of 12 points in the checklist to build your online influence. Remember, follow these points so you won't need to hire me to coach you through the process.

Tip 1. What are engaging interactivities?

In college I had a girlfriend who loved the “Rate Your…” quizzes in the back of Cosmopolitan magazine. She rated me/herself/our relationships, etc. every month when she got her new issue.

Although I didn’t fully believe some of the outcomes and analytics , the activities were interesting.

The interesting part wasn’t just looking at outcomes, as it was also looking at analytics. We compared our responses to the statistics in the magazine.

Sometimes I didn’t believe the categories we fell into. But the parts I liked were the self reflections and comparisons. I liked seeing how I compared and finding ways to improve myself.

Years later, I became a professional speaker leading 1-day seminars around the world. In seminars, we shared “Rate Your... “ quizzes and surveys with statistics. Almost all participants told me they were quite helpful.

Tip 2. How are interactivities engaging?

People like feedback to see how they are doing. Why do you think online gaming became one of the first multi billion dollar industries?

Generally audiences were interested in learning about themselves and how they compare to others. Also, the statistics / analytics are quite engaging for participants as they compare their results.

As social media has exploded online, I’m sure you’ve seen many interactivities for engagement. Interactivities include surveys, games, or contests that give instant feedback.

While lecturing in college, the most engaging times with my students weren’t when I was talking. Seriously! Student engagement was highest when student were interacting with each other.

Then the smartphone came along. We created interactive exercises and the engagement (and learning) exploded. (Subtle brag, sorry.)

Look at social media. Our engagement is posting, curating, commenting, and sharing. You are just posting, as you are interacting with others.

Tip 3. What are proven formulas for engaging interactivities?

Here are a few interactivities that can be useful at first:

• “Rate Yourself” Quizzes (These are my favorites)
• Trivia Quizzes: Try the “The Smurf Trivia Quiz” https://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz2316341a85778.html
• Trivia Questions: “When was the first Smurf Book was published?”
• Fill-in-the-Blanks. e.g. “If I could have only one Smurf it would be ________ because ________.”
• Questions: M/C-Multiple Choice, T/F-True False, Are you watching / not watching the new Smurf movie? etc.
• Quotes: People love to ‘Like’ and share quotes.
• Social Media Contests: There’s an app (or 10 apps) for that.
• Nostalgia: Remember when we used to (old tradition/fad)?
• Crowdsource ideas, topics, answers to problems, or “Caption The Photo,” etc.

Above all, use interactivities that give feedback as soon as possible. Although, there are exceptions for contests that last a few days, etc.

*A special thanks to Daragh Walsh for his great ideas in this list. Find Daragh at https://www.completedigitalmarketingcourse.com.

Tip 4. The 2 keys to valuable interactivities are...

1. As statistics are key to engagement, not all quizzes and questions are useful. So, take that extra step to find quizzes and questions that give immediate answers and comparisons/stats. 
2. Similarly, not all feedback is analytical. Your comment sections can generate massive valuable feedback, ideas, answers, etc. Gary Vaynerchuk calls this, "being in the trenches" because that is where you learn most.

Tip 5. Where can you get analytics (user statistics)?

Having said that, let’s look more closely at analytics. Here are some methods to help you find statistics.

First, there are third party apps that give you feedback you can share. Some of the social media game apps (above) include analytics.

Also, most social media have their own analytics. For example, Facebook and Instagram have their own, “Insights” analytics and reports.

Further, on LinkedIn, you can view activity in each post. Also, Twitter, has analytics. But apps from hubspot.com or sproutsocial.com share with viewers better.

Another idea I like is creating my own quizzes using Google forms and add-ons. I just create forms and set-up the add-ons to score answers / give feedback right away. (Remember to clearly credit your content sources.)

Please let me know if you would like tips on creating your own interactivities. It isn’t that difficult but it isn’t that easy either.

In the end, Google forms give you total freedom and control. You have power over your interactivities. Also, you could use 3rd party apps, but they can be expensive and limiting.

Tip 6. Here is your final reminder on interactivity analytics.

What idea have I kept sharing in this blog post again and again?

That’s right, give them instant (or as soon as possible) feedback.

By creating and sharing interactivities, you can explode your engagement. The key is to ensure automatic / instant feedback to those who engage in your interactivities.

One last reminder. Use your community email list to ask them which are your most engaging interactivities.

Have fun interacting.

"THE #1 WAY TO DEVELOP CONTEXT" -Gary Vaynerchuk  

THE #1 WAY TO DEVELOP CONTEXT...being deep in the trenches -Gary Vaynerchuk

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